Dreams in Aubergine
by Magick
Summary: A sweet convo between Mischa and Hannibal Lecter tiein to Operetta Majora


Disclaimer- I don't own anything, I'm just using the characters created by Thomas Harris for my own (and your) amusement.

Hey again. Alright, this is a continuation of 'Harmony', but it's also a stand-alone. I would suggest that you read 'Harmony' before this, because otherwise, some of the references might not make sense.

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Everyone dreams. Sometimes they are pleasant, and sometimes they can scare you beyond much else. Sometimes they are disturbing, and a few bring comfort. Hannibal Lecter dreamed, but he did not dream the way many people do; he was, you see, a lucid dreamer. The term may seem strange to many people, but in laymen's terms, it is simply a person who is able to control his dreams, or, himself within those illusions.

It had been a long day, planning and sorting, and building the foundations of what would soon be his new life. Just because he had given his word never to kill again, did not mean that the other crimes he had committed had been absolved. No, far from it. If the Dr. Lecter remained in the United States of America, it would mean certain death. It may take the form of an old vendetta, or Lethal Injection, either way the result was the same, and Hannibal Lecter had no desire to die anytime soon. But it had been a long day, and now he lay his dark head against his pillow, and sleep claimed him instantly.

Everything was purple, there was no sky, nor land, nor anything but purple. Aubergine the shade was called. She was there, small in his arms, but deceptively heavy. Her dress was white, her hair dark and curling at the ears (as babies hair in wont to do). She looked like him, but for her eyes. They were blue, a brilliant sapphire hue, a bright contrast to his own maroon. "Mischa.." he murmured with a smile. She grinned up at him and clapped her tiny hand to his mouth.

Always before he had been young, reliving endlessly the last time he saw her, carried away through the blood-streaked snow. Carried away to play. This time it was different, and he knew the difference was significant. As this thought came to him, she grew heavier in his arms, until he had no choice but to set her down in the mists of aubergine. He watched with rapt attention as she grew, and in but the blink of an eye, stood before him. No longer the child he had dreamed of for so many years, but a woman grown to how she should be.

Mischa looked like their mother, slender and curving. Her hair was long, and it tickled his hands as he reached for her. She stepped back from him, shaking her head, her eyes sad. "Mia bella Mischa," he said in Italian, his voice breaking; my beautiful Mischa.

"So long you have fought against the truth. Why can't you accept the reality that you know in your heart, Hannibal?" She took his hands in hers, held them tightly, and silently begged him to understand. "I can't! There must be a way to bring you back!" His tone took on a hint of desperation, "There must be a place for you!"

She sighed, averting her eyes for a moment, "I know you've tried, I've watched for so long. But even if you could find me a place in the one this woman you love now occupies, then you would be without her. Or give me your own place, and we would still be apart. Brother, it's time to let go, I want you to be happy, can't you see that? If I hadn't died the way I had, then you would not be the man you have grown to be; never would have met the woman you love so well. The events in our lives make us, and mold us into who we are, even you. Look at who you are, Hannibal, the methods and passages of your mind. You have loved only me for so long but have learned to love another as well as me. Love us both, and I will always be with you. In our veins ran the same blood, so you can never be truly separated from me. Let go, sweet brother, or else the memory of me will die with you.

"Still within you is the brother I loved so much in my life. The brother who cared so much for me, and even in my infant mind I emulated you."

With this, he realized the tears on his face, and railed against the last comment, "No! You were so lovely, Mischa, so full of life! If nothing, I wish I could have been more like you. You were born with such a spark, you made me so happy just to be with you. Then you were gone, and I prayed! Oh God, Mischa, how I prayed! But you were gone, and it seemed like all the hope just drained out of me. Nothing held my interest for a very long time, Mischa, you were the one who should have lived." He watched as her face crumpled, and she hugged him tightly to her breast. "Never let yourself believe that, Hannibal! You're my brother, and I love you, and nothing could change that! You've done so many awful things, but I understand. And if you let her, so will she. I would have died had they taken you instead. But you survived. You will always survive. And I'll be here to watch you."

"I miss you so much..."

"I'm here, I have a place in this world." She pressed her hand over his heart, and winked, her eyes bright.

And from his dream, the Doctor awoke.

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Ok, I'm not very happy with this piece, it's very OOC. And yes, I know it's sappy.

I might write another vignette to conclude this as a three part set, but I'm not sure yet.

Reviews are greatly appreciated.


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